worden

Worden is a Dutch verb meaning to become. It belongs to the West Germanic family and is cognate with the German werden. In everyday Dutch, worden is used both to express change of state and to form passive constructions.

In its basic forms, the verb is conjugated as follows. Present tense: ik word, jij wordt, hij/zij/het wordt, wij worden, jullie worden, zij worden. Past tense (simple past): ik werd, jij werd, hij werd, wij werden, jullie werden, zij werden. The past participle is geworden. The verb can be used with other verbs to build periphrastic tenses, such as future passive: Het huis zal worden gebouwd. Present passive: Het huis wordt gebouwd. Past passive: Het huis werd gebouwd.

Worden also serves to express change of state or becoming in ordinary clauses. Examples: Ik word moe. (I am getting tired.) Word je boos? (Are you getting angry?) In addition to its passive uses, worden appears in contexts indicating a transformation over time, as in perfect constructions with a related meaning: Hij is geworden. (He has become.)

Etymologically, worden is a core Dutch verb with roots in the broader Germanic family; it is closely related to the German werden and reflects the common linguistic pattern of expressing becoming and passive notions across related languages.

Worden is also encountered as a surname or place-name in Dutch- and English-speaking regions, though these uses are separate from the verb’s grammatical function.